The Fringe Effect
by Dunhamnator
Summary: "Peter and Olivia try everything to get Walter and Astrid back from the dead, but they don't realize the consequences." The Butterfly Effect in Fringe style. AU On hold for an undefined time.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: **__For all those who have seen The Butterfly Effect 1, 2 or 3 understand what this story is about!  
Basically, this is The Butterfly Effect with the Fringe characters.  
**Summary: **__Peter and Olivia try everything to get Walter and Astrid back from the dead, but they don't realize the consequences. __**  
Spoilers: **__The series. _

_I own nothing. The awesomeness that is Fringe is courtesy of J.J. Abrams and others!

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"If my calculations are correct, this experiment will allow you two to see in the future. Basically, you will be able to see the consequences of the choices you make." Walter said in his distinct voice as he pointed to Peter and Olivia with both his index-fingers.

"That is of course if this experiment succeeds." He quietly mumbled as he turned around to grab something. Peter shook his head, wondering how it was possible his father could just say something like that when they were about to indulge in a life risking experiment. A life risking experiment he didn't even want to join in the first place, but he quickly realized he had no choice. Walter had made it very clear that this experiment could only be done with two people and Olivia, of course, was determent to participate. He had to admit, she was a little right; it could certainly help them with their investigations. That is of course if this experiment succeeds. But he didn't want to think of the things that could happen if it would go wrong. He decided to just go along and see where it would take him. So he let Walter guide him to the middle of the lab where two gurneys were placed. Olivia followed after him. Peter sat down on the left gurney, he lay down with his head facing the doors of the lab. Olivia took the gurney to the right, next to the tank. She lay down so her feet were facing the door, this because Walter asked her to. When both were laying as comfortable as possible, Walter turned to Astrid.

"Astral, would you grab the drugs for me?" Astrid nodded, not bothering to make a comment on Walter's adaption of her name. She turned around to grab two syringes from a table; she gave one to Walter. He pointed to the syringe she kept in her hand.

"Would you inject that into Olivia's right arm? Right. Here." He placed his own syringe on Peter's arm, clearly indicting where Astrid should inject Olivia. She walked towards her colleague, who was more of a friend, and silently injected only Walter knows what in Olivia's arm. When the syringe was empty, she pulled it from Olivia's arm and walked toward Walter. She pulled him away, placing some distance between them and Peter and Olivia.

"Good." Walter said after a moment, his voice slightly hesitant. "Now, I need you two to hold each other's hand."

"Why?" Peter turned his head to his father. This was not the time for one of his jokes, this was serious business.

"You need to have a stable connection, that's the only way it'll work on you both!" Walter said firmly, grabbing one of his red vines and offering one to Astrid; she politely rejected. Peter and Olivia both lifted their right arms hesitantly, but when their fingers touched their hands locked in a strong embrace.

"Now close your eyes." Peter and Olivia closed their eyes as they both felt the drugs slowly spreading through their bodies.  
After what felt like hours of waiting both Peter and Olivia started to feel light headed, it was as if they were falling asleep and yet they were conscious enough to notice it.

"Open your eyes." Came Walter's distant voice. The sound was faint, almost as if it wasn't even there. Peter wanted to say his father's name to verify if he had said something, but before he could he had opened his eyes. He found himself in a white room, if it was a room at all. There seemed to be no walls, no ceiling, and maybe most important, no floor. He looked at Olivia unbelievingly; it was as if they were floating, and they were still holding the other's hand. Just as they realized this they felt an incinerating heat surround them. As if they were in the middle of an oven only the flames couldn't touch them. She wanted to open her mouth and ask what was happening, but then it all went black.

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Hours later Olivia woke up. She looked to her right first, seeing a beeping machine with wires going to it, or maybe from it? She didn't really know the answer to that question, she did know that the wires were going to her arm; the machine was attached to her. She then looked to her left. First thing she saw was Peter moving his head to look at her. He had looked to his left first, making the same conclusion she made; he was attached to some annoying, beeping machine. They looked at each other and opened their mouth at the same time to ask the same question, but no sound came. It was she who found her voice first.

"What happened?" She asked the mutual question.

"I don't know." His voice was hoarse as he shook his head. She saw the annoyance of not knowing what happened in his eyes, he saw it in hers.  
Only minutes later the doctor entered their room, a smile which they were sure was supposed to be reassuring on his face, but Peter nor Olivia felt reassured. She tried to sit up but couldn't; she was unable to move her arms, they were weak and couldn't lift her up. The doctor's smile faded when he saw the looks in their eyes.

"What happened to us?" This time it was Peter to ask the question.

"You were found by an Agent Phillip Broyles in a lab at Harvard. He found you unconscious and called an ambulance."

"Where's Walter? And Astrid?" The doctor swallowed hard before answering the question.

"There… There was a fire at the lab. The entire place burned down. Besides you, Agent Broyles found two bodies. Presumably your father Dr. Walter Bishop and colleague Agent Astrid Farnsworth. They were both so severely burned, we haven't been able to identify them. Though Agent Broyles confirmed they are most likely your father and friend." Olivia had moved her head to the right a long time ago, not wanting to look at the doctor or Peter; she heard him swallow hard.

"It is a miracle that you survived. You weren't even touched by the fire." He didn't have to tell them that. Besides, they probably didn't even hear him anymore. When both didn't ask any more questions, or even acknowledged his presence, the doctor left.  
They silently sat in their beds for about an hour until Peter found the courage to talk.

"This can't be true, Olivia. It just can't be." She nodded. She wanted to scream at him that she didn't need to be told, but if it wasn't him making the comment now it would be her minutes later.

"All because of some stupid experiment." Her voice barely a whisper.

"That he got us into." Peter agreed with a tiny smile.

"We need to get out of here." She said after a few minutes, he nodded.

It took them both about an hour to get dressed, their arms were feeling weak. The doctor had got them both in a hospital gown, their regular clothing hanging in the closet of their room.  
After getting dressed, they went to check out with the nurse, but she insisted they weren't allowed to leave. After minutes of talking to the nurse both Peter and Olivia were highly irritated. Olivia didn't want to use her position as an agent, but after flashing her badge and throwing in some threats the nurse quickly showed them the papers to be signed.  
Not too long after that, they found themselves in Olivia's apartment trying to wrap their heads around what had happened. But neither could remember anything from the moment they heard Walter say 'open your eyes.'  
They couldn't believe Walter and Astrid were actually dead, they couldn't be dead. This must all be some side-effect of the drugs. They were just dreaming. In a couple of hours they would wake up and be back in the lab, Walter looking at them eagerly to know what they had seen during their time out.  
But hours passed and nothing happened. Peter and Olivia hadn't moved from their spot on the couch and slowly the realization that they had really lost their mad scientist and saint of an agent dawned over them. Peter and Olivia faced each other, fear written in their eyes.

"They are really dead, right?" And with tears starting to form in his eyes, Peter nodded.

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The last three months had been difficult on both of them, but after burying their friends, who had become their family, and after coming to peace with themselves and what had happened, Peter and Olivia started to heal. Life had to go on and Walter nor Astrid would want them to mourn every single day.  
So Olivia went to the bureau every day, dealing with normal homicides, because Fringe Division had closed when Walter died. There was no one who knew what Walter knew about the things they saw, so there was no use in trying to solve the crimes. Peter moved in with Olivia, because he couldn't live in the house where he used to live with Walter. Everything reminded him of his father and he couldn't deny how much he missed the man. Life was as normal as it could get without Walter and Astrid around.

Olivia came home from work early, she'd had a huge headache all day and Broyles demanded she went home to rest and come back the next day. After a minute of arguing, Olivia nodded and agreed it'd be best if she went home. If arguing was hurting this much, she wouldn't be very useful at all.  
So she stumbled through the door and Peter immediately jumped from the couch as he saw her fatigue form standing in the hall.

"You alright?" He asked, a hand on her shoulder.

"Huge headache." She said, her hand holding her forehead, eyes closed.

"Yeah, me too. I'll help you to the couch." She nodded, letting him help her and his right hand reached for her right hand to help her stand up a little bitter. But as soon as their fingers touched, both grunted in pain, feeling as if a knife had cut through their brain. After a few seconds, Peter tried again, this time succeeding and holding her hand. It didn't take one second, when both saw a white flash and let go of the others hand in a hurry. They blinked once, twice and then Olivia realized her headache was gone and Peter understood what he had seen.

"You saw that too?" He asked, just to know he wasn't going crazy. She nodded, she had seen it too.

With no way to explain what exactly they had seen, they sat down. Neither said a word, both thinking of possible explanations.

"Okay, okay, how about this?" Peter started after minutes, standing up from his position on the couch, Olivia looked at him, interested.

"Maybe Walter's experiment worked and we can see the consequences of choices we make." Olivia immediately shook her head.

"That's impossible. If we saw the same thing, and we confirmed we did, then it can't be a consequence of a choice we make. Both Walter and Astrid were alive, so maybe…" she stopped for a minute, wondering how her idea would sound out loud.

"Maybe we had a glimpse into the other side?" Peter sat down, he had to admit, that sounded quiet plausible. So the two sat in silence again, thinking. It could've been 30 minutes, it could've been an hour, but all of sudden Peter jumped up and ran to the bookshelf.

"Walter once read a book about time traveling. Well, not just time traveling, a form of it." Peter scanned the bookshelf until he found the book he was looking for and showed it to Olivia.

"Pure fiction, really. But Walter was convinced that in theory it could work." Peter opened the book and read a small passage in his head as Olivia made her way to him.

"You lost me at the time traveling part." Peter laughed and then moved them both to the couch where they sat down as Peter started to explain.

"In the book, main character Evan goes back to his past where he changes little things and then finds himself in the current time, but not in the way he left it. As he spends a couple of months in his, let's say, altered life, he sees how the lives of his friends and family have changed drastically. So he goes back again and tries to change the future in a way that works out for him and his friends and family." Olivia nodded as she tried to understand, it came gradually.

"So, what we saw was…"

"I think we saw a little of _our_ altered life."

"But that would mean that, in theory, we could go there. But then we have to go back first and change something." Peter nodded, implying she was right.

"How would we do that?"

"Give me your hand."

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_**A/N: **__This is the start of a multi-chapter story and I hope you like it.  
Be sure to expect more!  
Please read and review!_

_14/03/2011  
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	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: **Thanks everyone for the favs and alerts - it is really awesome to see this is being read by people whose stories I thoroughly enjoy!__  
_

_I own nothing, but maybe J.J. would let me borrow Olivia for a while.

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Olivia was a little hesitant at first, but she eventually gave up her inner argument and offered her hand to Peter, with an intense look in his eyes he took it. Both had to fight to hold the other's hand as the pain going through them was excruciating. What felt like minutes later they both opened their eyes again, their heads pounding. They both scanned their surroundings and realized they were in the Harvard parking lot. They looked at each other, starting to remember what they had just done.

"It worked?" Olivia asked. Peter reached inside his jeans pocket and found his phone. He checked the date and then turned his head to Olivia again.

"July 25th." A smile appeared on Olivia's face.

"What time is it?" Peter looked at his phone again to check the time when he heard a familiar voice yelling for him and Olivia.

"Peter, Agent Dunham! We have an experiment to do, hurry up please!" Walter's voice sounded impatient. He looked at the two unbelievingly as they stood smiling at each other instead of coming with him.

"Will you please stop smiling and come with me?" Peter laughed and walked up to his father, Olivia following. Peter placed a hand on Walter's shoulder who looked at it as if he was being touched by God himself. He patted it reassuringly, as if he knew why Peter had the sudden need to touch him.

"Walter, about that experiment," Peter began, "Olivia and I don't think it's such a good idea." Peter opened the doors to the lab and searched the place for Astrid, she was standing behind her computer.

"But, Peter… Agent Dunham, you said…"

"I know what I said, Walter." Olivia said calmly. "But I am not feeling too well and I think it'd be better if I go home now." She wasn't entirely lying to get out of this experiment and keep everyone alive, she was really feeling sick and she had a huge headache, again. Walter looked from Olivia to Peter and back to Olivia.

"Well, you do look a little pale." Walter seemed to think of other ways to do this experiment, but he had to admit Olivia looked sick and the last thing he wanted was for her to vomit over his equipment.

"Perhaps we can resume this tomorrow."

"Perhaps." Olivia smiled. She said goodbye to Astrid, having never been so happy to see her, and then walked out of the lab. Almost immediately she heard footsteps behind her; Peters. They silently walked besides each other for a moment, afraid they would break some sort of spell if they spoke. They reached her car and looked at each other, neither could believe this was actually happening. Neither could believe they were actually here. It was Peter who dared to speak first.

"I guess we must have done something right." He sounded nervous, but his nervosity quickly disappeared as Olivia smiled at him.

"We'll be fine. Now go home, you must be missing your bed." He smiled and nodded. He turned his head to the right, searching for his father's car. He remember clearly he had parked it somewhere at the right of Olivia's car, three months ago. A small smile escaped his lips as he saw the old station wagon.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He patted Olivia's arm before leaving for his car.

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Olivia had crashed down on her bed the second she entered her bedroom, suddenly exhausted. She was woken up from her sleep by her phone, grunting she grabbed it from her pocket. She read the caller ID and answered her phone, her eyes closed again.

"Dunham."

"Agent Dunham…" Broyles sounded small, as if he was afraid to tell Olivia what he had to say. She had never seen Broyles scared, never heard him choke on his words. She opened her eyes and sat up against the headboard, she just knew something was wrong.

"I do not want to tell you this on the phone. Meet me at the office."

"Sir…" But he had already hung up on her. She looked at her phone for a minute before she realized something must be really, really wrong. She didn't care for the wrinkles in her clothing or her messy hair, she grabbed her keys from where she had dropped them and rushed to her car.

She past three red lights and two camera's on her way over, but she arrived at the FBI building in record time. Jumping from her car, she ran into the building, almost bumping into several agents before she knocked on Broyles' open door. She didn't wait for permission to enter and walked straight towards her boss, not noticing Peter sat in a chair at her left.

"Sir." With one word she politely greeted her boss and told him to tell her what the hell was going on. Peter rose from his chair, but Olivia still didn't he was there. It was until he laid his hand on her shoulder that she knew he was there. She turned around.

"Peter, what's going on?" He didn't answer, he just shook his head. Olivia looked from Peter to Broyles, back to Peter and then kept her eyes fixed on Broyles'. He inhaled sharply, held his breath for a moment before he exhaled.

"About thirty minutes ago I got a phone call from Boston General. In their care they had two victims of a car crash." Olivia's eyes widened, fearing what would come next. But it never came, it seemed Broyles couldn't find the right words. Peter took over. He turned Olivia around and held both her shoulders.

"Olivia. Rachel and Ella didn't make it." Her eyes searched his, hoping this was some twisted joke or a bad dream, but he didn't start laughing and she didn't wake up. As the realization hit her, she broke down. For minutes Peter just held her as his chest muffled her sobs. He had never seen her this devastated, but he understood. Within hours after having Walter and Astrid back, she lost her little sister and niece. All she had in this world, gone with the blink of an eye. He said nothing, just held her as Broyles nodded and left the office. After a couple of minutes her sobs died down and her body relaxed, Peter thought she was regaining her posture, but when she didn't back away he pulled back slightly. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was slow; she was asleep. He couldn't help but form a small smile, he had a feeling of pride, that she trusted him enough to break down in front of him and fall asleep in his arms. He carefully lifted her up and carried her out the FBI building, to her car. He grabbed her car and house keys from her pocket before buckling her in, and then drove off to her apartment.

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Struggling with the door as he carried her, he tried not to wake her and immediately placed her in her bed when he entered her apartment. He watched her for a minute and then went to sit on the couch, not wanting her to be alone when she woke up. And it gave him some time to think about how he would tell Olivia about his suspicion, because he didn't believe this was coincidence.  
He sat on her couch for a few hours before he heard footsteps behind him and then he saw her sit down next to him. He gave her some time, not saying anything. She sighed before she trusted her voice again and spoke.

"What actually happened?" Her voice was barely a whisper and that made it even more difficult for Peter to tell, so he lied.

"I honestly don't know, Broyles wouldn't tell me." He had turned his head to look at her and saw her nod. She knew he knew, but she also understood why he didn't tell her.

"Were they in pain?"

"Olivia." He pleaded, placing his hand on hers, which rested on her knee.

"Peter." Her plead was equal to his and he had wanted to tell her, but she started crying again and his heart broke for her. She was there for him when Walter was gone and now he was going to be there for her. So he scooted closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, giving her space to back away because he knew her. But she leaned in closer and allowed him to hold her once again as she cried. He spoke soft words, calming her down, rubbing his hand over her arm. He kissed the top of her head and whispered it would be okay, that they could do something about this. And that caught her attention.

"What?" She pulled back to look at him, not knowing what he was talking about.

"Olivia, this isn't a coincidence." He said, raising his hand to her cheek, wiping away the tears.

"This happened for a reason." She looked away, subconsciously at her bookshelf, because she knew what he meant and she knew where they got the initial idea from. But she didn't understand.

"How? Why?"

"People die all the time and when we got Walter and Astrid back we started some kind of cycle, I think. Rachel and Ella died on the same day, at the same time as Walter and Astrid did. Maybe… Maybe we can get them back." He sounded insecure as he spoke his last phrase.

"Peter, it only happened a few hours ago and besides, if we get them back, someone else will die!" Olivia Dunham was never one to be selfish, she would never sacrifice anyone else for her wellbeing. But honestly, her words were just a mask to hide that she was willing to give anything, do anything to get her sister and niece back, even if that meant someone else would die.

"I don't think it matters how long ago it happened, if we want to go back, we can try. Unless you don't want to." He left her with a choice, but they both knew it was already made.

"They were all I had." And she clung to Peter once again.

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**_A/N: _**_I know this was a fast update; I just so happened to finish this chapter earlier than I thought, chapter three is gonna be a while though, due to school work.  
Let's play a game in the meantime. Olivia says: 'Click review!' _


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: **__Wooh, chapter 3! _

_You know, I wish I owned Olivia or Anna, but I'm not that lucky!

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Once she had made her choice, she didn't want to waste any time. She practically dragged Peter from the couch and obeyed him to take her back, but he insisted she needed to sleep on this. She needed to rest and then tomorrow he would take her back. Though that was a lot of honor to take, because it wasn't him who would take her back, it was them. She nodded disappointed, but had to agree with him that she felt a little weak. Both physically and mentally; if Peter wasn't there she would be crying her eyes out in bed. She knew he wouldn't mind, but she didn't want him to see her any weaker than he already had. Still, she asked him to stay, because she simply didn't want to be alone. As she walked to her bedroom, Peter behind her because she had grabbed his hand, she wondered how much sleep she would get. Every inch in her house reminded her of Rachel, of Ella. With every step she took, she wanted to cry and with every tear she swallowed back, she wanted to cry even harder. At that point she didn't care how broken he would see her, she just wanted to cry.

She lay down in bed, her back to Peter who wrapped his arm around her as he pulled the blankets over them. And she changed her mind; she refused to be selfish, she refused to sacrifice another human-being. She refused.

"I can't do it, Peter." She whispered. He simply nodded, pulling her closer as he felt her body starting to shake. He whispered soothing words to her until her body relaxed and she was asleep.

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She woke up the next morning smelling coffee and during breakfast Peter had asked if she was sure. She wasn't, but she nodded and so she started on her life without her family.

She had lasted for two months, but then a case got to her. A 32-year old man had killed his entire family, one by one, in the most gruesome way possible. Olivia had invested all her time in this case and when they caught the bastard she never but once doubted about interrogating him; she needed to know why he did what he did.

"They were all pieces of junk. Bitch of a mother, really. She never gave a damn about me. And that man, who calls himself my father, never even once looked at him. Do you know how that feels? Huh? I bet you don't." He was silent for a while, thinking, reminiscing.

"And then that sister of me. God! Getting pregnant at 20, demanding all the attention, as if she never got all the attention. And then that little brat was born. You know, there was nothing wrong with the little guy, it was just his mommy that was completely fucked up! They were in my way and they had to go. That's why I killed my family." There wasn't a hint of remorse in his voice. She had managed to sit through his speech, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists on many occasions. Peter saw everything from behind the window and saw coming what happened next. She couldn't help herself, she had swallowed his words, but he didn't deserve to even take the word 'family' in his mouth. She pushed her chair backwards with such a force it hit the wall behind her. The man flinched, but Olivia seemed oblivious to the sound.

Peter came rushing through the door, but she already had the man up by his collar and against the wall. He wanted to stop her, but he let her yell at their suspect, because Peter hated him too and he deserved this.

"How dare you say that? You do not know what family is! You do not know what it's like to have a mother or a father, or a sister! You should have been the luckiest man on earth with a family like that, instead you see them as nothing more than obstacles!" She had wanted to say so much more, she had wanted to yell at him all night long. Make him feel first what it's like to have a family and then violently rip it away from him, but he wouldn't understand because he never had a family. She let go of his collar, dropping him to the ground and then walked past Peter, out the interrogation room.

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He found her in her office fifteen minutes later, having given her some time. She was sitting in the corner, knees up to her chest and her arms protectively wrapped around them. She was crying. Peter sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and slowly pulling her closer into his embrace. She cried against his chest, muttering words and Peter hated to see her like this. Never once had he seen Olivia Dunham cry – scared and sad, yes – but he had never seen her cry. Until two months ago, when he first held her in his arms to stop her tears and sobbing. And now he was doing just that on a weekly basis.

"You don't have to go through this, Olivia." He whispered, as his free hand went to hold her head.

"You don't have to."

"I do, Peter. I cannot sacrifice anyone else." If she wasn't this close, he would never have heard her.

"You have already made the biggest sacrifice anyone ever has to make. You always think of others first and that's what makes you the amazing woman and great cop you are. But sometimes you have to think of yourself too. And you have to start doing that, Olivia." She looked up at him, her tears had stopped.

"Whatever sacrifice you have to make, we'll make it together. We'll do this together. But I can't see you like this, anymore." She nodded and closed her eyes, he brought his lips to her forehead and kissed it gently, nodding too.

"Good." They sat like that for a couple more minutes until Peter started to stand and pulled Olivia with him. He looked in her eyes, searching for any sign that she was doubting, because if she wasn't absolutely sure, he wouldn't do it. He would never let her do anything she didn't absolutely want to. But she didn't say anything, so he grabbed her right hand with his right and pulled her into a tight hug before their vision became white.

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He opened his eyes, still holding Olivia, and saw they were in the Harvard parking lot, again. Letting go of her right hand, he pushed his hand in his pocket and grabbed his phone, checking the date.

"May 13th." He whispered. Then she dared to open her eyes and let go of him. They looked at each other for a while, realizing how insane it was what they were doing, but it would be worth it.

"Call her." He said with a nod and Olivia left his side. She went to stand next to her car, her phone already at her ear.

"Hello?" Came Rachel's very alive voice over the phone. Olivia couldn't speak, tears slipping from her eyes.

"'Liv, is that you?" Olivia nodded, but then realized Rachel couldn't see her.

"Yes." She whispered.

"'Liv, what's wrong? Did something happen to you?" Rachel was instantly worried and Olivia loved to hear the fear in her voice, it proved to her she was alive. And the giggles of a 7-year old in the background helped a lot too.

"No, nothing's wrong. I just wanted to hear your voice. Just wanted to know you're fine, you know."

"Okay." Rachel said and the two sisters just listened to the other's breathing for a while. Peter watched from a distance and smiled to himself. After two months of seeing Olivia cry every week, he loved to see her smile. He wanted to take a picture so he could see that smile whenever he wanted, because he knew, that in a little more than a month, that smile would disappear again. They had learned that bringing people back from the dead didn't come without consequences and he wondered who they would be burying next.

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**_A__/N: _**_That's chapter three and I hope y'all like it._


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: **__Chapter 4 already! _

_And I still don't own Olivia or Anna, Peter or Joshua, Walter or John. (How could would that be?)_

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In the month that followed, Olivia had visited her sister twice. Rachel still didn't understand, but she liked to see Olivia more than usual and Ella was sure enjoying it. Now both Peter and Olivia were on their way to Rachel, because Ella wanted to see 'Uncle Peter' again and how could Uncle Peter say no when she asked him with the sweetest voice she had. The car ride was quiet and slightly uncomfortable. There wasn't any tension between the two, today was just a hard day on both of them. They were supposed to go to the lab to finish up on paperwork, but Walter was a little cranky because Peter and Olivia told him they wouldn't do an experiment with him. The experiment, if agreed to, would be done today and Walter was anything but pleased that he couldn't do it. And so they were both grateful to have planned this visit on June 25th. Broyles hadn't even called yet and that could be considered a miracle.

As Peter shut off the engine of the car he looked at Olivia, who was looking out the window.

"How are you doing?" He asked, genuinely worried.

"I have been dreading this day for weeks. I just want it to be over with." He nodded, because he felt the same. He touched her hand reassuringly.

"We'll make it through, Olivia. Remember?" She turned to look at him now and nodded. Then she leaned in and he met her halfway, their lips gently touching. When they pulled apart, she smiled, a little bit more at ease. He had the power to do that; when she was feeling a little down or depressed he would light her up again.

They had been together for a month now, right after Olivia called Rachel. She asked what he had meant, when he said he couldn't see her like 'that' anymore. He had meant that it hurt him too much to see her broken and that there was nothing he could do about it. She asked him what he was trying to say and he told her he loved her. And she was so happy she could finally admit she loved him too.

They exited the vehicle and Olivia hadn't even reached the steps that led up to Rachel's apartment or Ella came flying through the door, into Olivia's arms. And minutes later, Peter was carrying the girl inside.

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The car clock read three P.M. and Peter and Olivia were on their way back home. Olivia was fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, shifting in her seat every second or so. She was nervous, so was he, but he was driving the car and he doubted it would be safe to use his hands to fidget with the hem of his shirt. But he did clench his fists around the steering wheel every once in a while. She kept checking her phone to see if she had any missed calls, but she had none and no one had called them in the last hour.

"Olivia, maybe nothing is going to happen. Maybe it is not someone we know." He tried, hopeful.

"Maybe it already happened and they just haven't called us yet. Or maybe they haven't found the bodies yet." She tried, not so hopeful. And then her phone rang. Peter steered the vehicle to the side of the road and Olivia's phone was immediately on speaker, the voice of Agent Amy Jessup filling the car. Peter and Olivia looked at each other, not the first one they'd expect to tell them someone had died.

"Agent Dunham, are you there?" The agent sounded just slightly impatient.

"Yes, I'm sorry, agent Jessup. Why are you calling?"

"I am sure you know Agent Broyles left for New York yesterday? He was supposed to return with Miss Sharp today, but…" The agent's voice betrayed how nervous she was. She cleared her throat and then continued.

"Massive Dynamic's private airplane, carrying Agent Broyles and Miss Sharp, crashed. The pilot and other crew members on board survived, but Agent Broyles and Miss Sharp unfortunately didn't." Olivia turned towards Peter, her jaw had dropped. He looked at her, shocked and unbelieving. Of all the people in the world they thought could die because of what they had done, Phillip Broyles and Nina Sharp were the two they expected the least. Agent Jessup spoke a few more words, but Peter nor Olivia heard her. One of them had said something because the line was broken and the car went completely silent. Neither of them were really thinking anything, they were trying to understand it, trying to grasp it.

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Broyles and Nina both had a beautiful ceremony. Through Broyles' ex-wife Olivia was able to contact some old colleagues and friends and through Massive Dynamic's database Olivia had found Nina's family.

It was an odd day for Olivia and Peter, because in a way they were experiencing it for the third time. The same day, the same hole in the ground and the same reverend; different families, different grave stones and different people gone from their lives. It was an odd day for everyone.

Peter, Olivia and Walter sat in the car, heading towards the Bishop house, when Walter spoke.

"I feel like I'm having a déjà-vu!" He practically exclaimed. "I feel like I have already been to this funeral, and I have already made this car trip with you." He chewed on one of his red vines, looking for an explanation. Olivia and Peter looked at each other. It wasn't only them who noticed they had changed the course of life. It didn't really matter, because everyone had déjà-vu's, but this was Walter and Walter could come up with the most insane theories, that on many occasions were correct.

"I had a déjà-vu once. When I was eight years and I was on a holiday with my family. We were driving through the mountains when we passed by a house. I had never been there before, but for some reason I recognized that house. From one glance, I could tell you what the inside looked like. I have never been inside the house, but I am sure I would have been right." She looked at Peter and then at Walter via her rear-view mirror, he nodded.

"That's a nice story, Agent Dunham." And he looked out the window again, having completely forgotten they had ever talked about déjà-vu's.

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Fringe Division was a mess without Broyles and without the help Massive Dynamic used to provide them, cases took longer than ever. The government decided to pull the plug and two months after Broyles' death, Olivia was working homicides again. She was coping really well and that surprised Peter, because she once again sacrificed someone close to her. She did talk about it with him, but he knew she wasn't telling him everything. And he was right, because she was holding back on him. She struggled with her decision every day. She wondered why she disrupted the course of nature in the first place. Part of her did it for Peter, because unlike she sometimes thought, they couldn't have done this without each other. But part of her had done it for herself and that had cost the life of her family and now her boss. She sometimes hoped she could give her own life, so the rest would live. After all, there must be a way to get Broyles and Nina back and keep everyone alive. And if that meant she had to sacrifice her own life, she would. She only didn't know if Peter would.

But Peter was holding back on her too, because he hadn't told her that it was eating from him too. He was looking for ways to undo this all. More than once had he crossed the thought of sacrificing himself – he knew Olivia would do it without a second thought. But he was an optimist, not by nature, he had become one when he met her that afternoon in Iraq. He often thought back to that day and that, somehow, the cycle had started there. Whatever choice they made from that point on, they would lead up to this point. Or maybe not. They were all 'what ifs', roads not taken. In some other universe, they maybe never met. In some other universe she might not even be an agent and he might not have been in Iraq, maybe they met by accident. He was drifting off and he needed to find a way, soon! Because he could see this was slowly breaking Olivia up.

They lay in bed one night, he was holding her to his chest, stroking her arm. She just held him close to her.

"Maybe, somewhere, this all never happened. Maybe, somewhere, we never met." He wasn't shocked anymore that she had been thinking the same thing he had. That happened all the time – he guessed that's what having a soulmate means.

"Maybe it would have been better if we never met." That did shock him. To the core of his being. He became slightly scared that she regretted being with him, but the kisses she scattered all over his neck and chest told him otherwise. And he had to agree she was right, maybe it was better if they had never met. But he didn't want to think about that, he didn't want to know or imagine what life would be like if they didn't know each other.

"Do you think they would still be alive if we hadn't met?" Her voice soft. He really didn't know the answer and honestly, cruel as it may be, he liked to think they might have died anyway so he and Olivia weren't completely responsible. But he couldn't know.

He didn't answer her question and she didn't mind. They didn't want to know how the world would be, hadn't she come for him in Iraq. She was reminded once again of the man she trusted and loved enough to search the world for a way to save him. The man who ended up betraying her – even though he had proved his innocence to her, she still felt betrayed. She couldn't help but think this all never happened if she wasn't in a relationship with John at the time.

She shook her head; she had to stop thinking about the 'what ifs' and start thinking about the here and now. But whenever she thought about what she would do the next day, she could never lose the image of Broyles and Nina never living another day. The guilt was bringing her down to small pieces until there would be nothing left of her. The only glue keeping her together at this point was Peter, and he was breaking too.

She had wanted to say something, but her eyelids became heavy and she gradually fell asleep. Drifting off to one of her daily nightmares.

* * *

**The déjà-vu Olivia had, is my own. Just wanted to throw that in there.  
As usual, let me know what you think!**


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